As soon as the door opened, the warm air rushed out hitting Isil in the face along with the thick smell of alcohol. As she walked in, she saw that the room was built out of thick logs, dully lit and filled with sketchy men who turned around all at once as the five travelers walked in. Everyone went silent for a moment while inspecting the company but soon went back to their conversations filling the room with low muttering and raspy laughter.
"Gandalf! It's great to see you again!" exclaimed a happy voice. Isil turned around and watched as the wizard approach the man behind the bar. The two had a small talk and Gandalf got the keys from the rooms they would be staying at.
Legolas and Thranduil walked towards a small table and ordered something while having a hushed conversation. Gandalf was still talking to the barkeeper and Eric wondered off somewhere leaving Isil all alone. She felt uneasy standing there, feeling like everyone were staring at her. Of course they were, she didn't look like she belong in there. Not that she was too upset about the fact that she wasn't an old creep with a beer belly and a lazy eye. She snorted and covered her mouth with her hand as she imagined herself looking like one, sitting at a table and drinking beer while it tickled down her double chin.
Making a decision that she will not be standing in the middle of the room like she did in the school cafeteria on her first day of high school, she decided to just find a bathroom and go from there. Making her way around the bar tables, and attempting not to touch anyone's sweaty back, she hurried towards the small room labeled 'dames' and pushed the door open. She locked it from the inside with a sloppy hook and found a mirror she almost didn't notice because of the thick layer of dust that covered it.
Scrunching up her nose she wiped the glass with a cloth that lay in a ball on top of something that resembled a sink. She felt a small movement into her hand and looked down at the cloth in terror. It looked like a family of earwigs nested in the piece of fabric since nobody ever touched it. Wincing, she threw the cloth into a wall and frantically started dusting off the invisible insects off her hands and clothes.
"Gross" she grumbled and stared into her own reflection. She didn't look as bad she she expected besides the fact that her eyeliner smeared down her face and made it look like she was wearing war paint. She rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a small towel. There was a lever that looked like it was used to run water and she started pumping it. It took her a couple of minutes to start the water because the lever was rusty and wouldn't cooperate with her. Finally, the water started running but to her disappointment in a reddish stream, instead of a nice a clear one she was so used to.
"Dammit all to hell" she exhaled and waited for it to clear up a bit before wetting the towel. She proceeded to wipe her face and hands and later cleaned her teeth with the toothbrush she thankfully packed. Freshening up made her feel a lot better and more confident. After exiting the room she started to move towards the bar looking for the men she left there. Pushing past the annoyed drunken men, she narrowed her eyes searching for them, but they were no where in sight. Panicking she started to look around, trying to spot a gray, pointy hat or a mane of blond hair. Nothing similar to what she was looking for was found, and she plopped in a tall seat in dismal.
"Well, what the hell am I suppose to do now?" she asked nobody in particular but was surprised when a voice responded.
"What do you mean 'what?', drink of course!" she turned around a saw a very short man with a long red beard and furry eyebrows that nearly covered his eyes. "When in doubt always drink." he said raising a cup into the air and flipped it over, emptying it in his mouth. Half of the liquid ended up in his long, tangly beard but he didn't seem to mind.
"That's what my aunt always says." said Isil with a half smile on her face.
"And a wise woman she is." answered the short man and ordered another drink. Isil never seen anyone this small but buff at the same time and she found it quite comical. She wouldn't be rude and ask him what he was, since she already guessed he might be a midget or maybe a dwarf. Either way it would be rude so she decided to act natural.
"Yeah she's pretty chill."
"Let's have another one in her honor then!" he announced and order two beers. Isil was wary of drinking with strangers but this one seemed pretty harmless, so she took the cup. The liquor tasted bitter at first, but she ignored it and proceeded to gulp.
Thranduil and Legolas has been searching for Isil for about an hour and began to worry whether something could have happened to her. It was hard to spot her among all the huge, drunken men since she was so small and could be easily lost in the crowd.
"We shouldn't have left her alone" said Legolas running a hand through his hair. "anything could have happened! She could have be captured by the spies and be dragged to Mordor right now." he ranted looking around desperately.
Thranduil glanced at his son with a frown. "Stop agonizing, perhaps that friend of hers found her already." he said continuing to walk through the crowd.
"I'm going to search outside." decided Legolas and headed towards the door.
Thranduil was left in the middle of the room surrounded by unpleasant faces. Suddenly he heard something that sounded like muffled singing coming from somewhere.
"Well the moon is broken
And the sky is cracked
Come on up to the house
The only things that you can see
Is all that you lack
Come on up to the house"
Turning his head around he stared into the crowd trying to figure out where it was coming from. The voice was too high to belong to a man so it was definitely a female. He wasn't sure it was Isil, but it didn't seem like any other women were around.
"All your cryin don't do no good
Come on up to the house
Come down off the cross
We can use the wood
Come on up to the house
Come on up to the house
Come on up to the house
The world is not my home
I'm just a passin thru
Come on up to the house"
Identifying the source of singing, he started to fight through crowd towards the voice.
"There's no light in the tunnel
No irons in the fire
Come on up to the house
And your singin lead soprano
In a junkman's choir
You gotta come on up to the house
Does life seem nasty, brutish and short
Come on up to the house
The seas are stormy
And you can't find no port
Come on up to the house
There's nothin in the world"
The elf stopped dead in his tracks in front of the bar, and stared at the small figure that rocked from side to side and sang the strange song, slurring the words.
"THERE'S NOTHIN IN THE WORLD
THAT YOU CAN DO
YOU GOTTA COME ON UP TO THE HOUSE
AND YOU BEEN WHIPPED BY THE FORCES
THAT ARE INSIDE YOU
COME ON UP TO THE HOUSE" she bellowed jerking her head back and opening her arms wide. The crowd were cheering and clanking their cups, while the little entertainer moved her feet lazily and hummed the melody. Meanwhile, Thranduil stared at her wide eyed with an open mouth, dumbfounded by the whole situation. He never seen a lady behave that way and wasn't sure what he was suppose to do, so he stood frozen in the crowd while she kept singing.
"WELL YOU'RE HIGH ON TOP
OF YOUR MOUNTAIN OF WOE
COME ON UP TO THE HOUSE
WELL YOU KNOW YOU SHOULD SURRENDER
BUT YOU CAN'T LET GO
YOU GOTTA COME ON UP TO THE HOUSE" she continued the song which was met with a loud applause and cheer. The elf looked around and spotted Eric who also climbed on one of the tables and started whistling. It ended soon when somebody walked by bumping into the table by accident and causing him to tumble to the floor.
Finally Thranduil came back to his sense. "ISIL! Come down from there!" he yelled remembering the times when Legolas was a kid and would climb up the tall trees and refuse to come down. 'I don't remember agreeing to be a babysitter' he thought annoyed.
"OH! HeeEEYyy!" she exclaimed happily, "I was wandering where you people went. EEEK" she said with a hiccup and stumbled. Before she could bash her head in on the table, he caught her, and brought her down to the floor, holding her up.
"I met friends!" she beamed at him pointing at the group of drunk dwarves who cheered in acknowledgment. The elf grimaced in disapproval and turned to the girl.
"We have been searching for you." he said irritated as she attempted to hold herself up.
"Really? I've been here this whole EEEK time."
"Come on." he said pulling her towards the stairs.
As he moved through the crowd holding her by her elbow, he was pulled back by some force, and he turned around. Somebody bumped into Isil almost knocking her off her feet. She regained her balance and glared at the man who ran into her.
"You wanna piece of me buddy?!" she questioned him threatenly, which didn't look very impressive since she was not standing up straight. The man backed away fearfully and continued to walk.
"That's RIGHT! You keep walking!" she shouted pointing at the poor bastard who hurried away, looking back in alarm. Thranduil stared at the girl with one raised eye brow as she continued to assault the man who was running away now.
"YOU WALK ALONE!" she shouted continuing to point in his direction. The elf rolled his eyes and picked her up by her waist, carrying her under his right arm.
"You walk ALONE!' she yelled earning weird glances from the people at the inn.
Gandalf sat in his chair in the room by the open window and peacefully smoked his pipe, while humming a melody under his nose. He watched as the sun settled behind the horizon and the sky began to turn dark, allowing the moon and stars to shine. Other than the noise downstairs, the atmosphere was peaceful and he enjoyed every bit of it.
Suddenly his solitude was rudely interrupted when somebody burst through the door, causing the wizard to turn his head in the direction of the unexpected sound.
"... The world is not my home
I'm just a passin thru
Come on up to the house" sang Isil happily as she clingged to the elf who leaned on the door tiredly and looked at her with annoyance.
"Will you stop that?" he asked her irritated. He didn't understand what the weird song was about and why she insisted so much that he came on up to some house.
The wizard observed the scene with amusement in his eyes while blowing a ring of smoke into the room.
"What! It's a great song!" she slurred and started to slip out of his grasp since her own feet couldn't hold her up any longer. He walked her into the room and sat her on the bed.
"How did you manage to get drunk? You don't have any money!" he demanded when she sat up.
"I told you! I met friends!" she exhaled loudly in annoyance and her head rolled to the side. The elf looked at the wizard with a frown and headed for the door.
"I am going to tell Legolas I found her." he announced and the wizard nodded.
"Find Eric!" shouted Isil remembering her friend they left downstairs as the elf disappeared behind the door. Isil lay back on the bed and as soon as her head touched the pillow, fell into a deep slumber.
The room fell silent again and Gandalf turned to the window continuing to observe the view, absorbed in his thoughts. They had to leave early in the morning the next day to reach Mirkwood faster. The forces of Mordor already knew that the heir has returned and started to search for her. It was dangerous to stay in one place for too long since the spies were every where and nobody was to be trusted. The wizard looked at the sleeping girl with worry in his eyes. She didn't realize the danger she was in.